TN cueist Dilip Kumar eyes glory in international meets

Chennai, Jan 28 (PTI) Tamil Nadu's Dilip Kumar has risen to No. 5 in the latest national snooker rankings and believes he needs to keep improving as opportunities to represent India in international events will come due to the climb in ranking.

The 29-year-old, who represents Railways, finished fifth in the 85th senior men's National snooker championship in Bengaluru. He lost a close quarterfinal encounter to Sumit Talwar in the tournament.

He was happy with his performance in the nationals as it featured all the country's top cueists.

"This is my best performance in the senior nationals as all top players took part. My ranking will help secure opportunities to represent the country in international events. I am looking forward to it and also win medals for India," he told PTI.

"I previously represented India in the World snooker championship in Bengaluru 2014 and was part of the national side in World 6-Red and team championships at Egypt in 2016. The rise in rankings is a boost for me," he added.

The cueist, a fan of the legendary Ronnie O'Sullivan and Mark Selby, is keen to keep improving in all aspects of the game.

"Break-building and temperament are my strengths. I also want to improve my skills, including safety play," he said.

Dilip Kumar, who admires Indian cue sport legend Pankaj Advani, said he is keen to work on his safety play.

"He is a legend of our sport. I am glad to play international events along with Pankaj this year. I would like to learn safety play from him," he added.

The Tamil Nadu player is aiming to do well in the CCI Invitational snooker tournament to be held in Mumbai next month